1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a poultry brooder and, more specifically, to a poultry brooder in which a radiant element is suspended over a heat source, such as a thermostatically controlled gas burner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various attempts have heretofore been made to provide an efficient poultry brooder to be suspended in a poultry house for controlling brooding temperature. Maintaining proper brooding temperature is critical to effective poultry brooding since temperature variations cause chicks to expend energy to maintain body temperature rather than to increase body weight. Expending energy to increase body weight desirably results in larger, more saleable birds and enables chicks to resist disease. Thus, poultry house temperature variation can result in smaller, less desirable birds and can cause weaker chicks to contract diseases which, in turn, may spread to other chicks. Naturally, the poultry farmer desires to maximize productivity by producing as much meat as possible for the feed consumed. The desirable result is to keep the bird warm so that the food energy contained in the feed is used to produce weight gain rather than body heat.
Structures for maintaining temperature on a poultry house floor traditionally concentrate on radiating heat downward onto the chicks, either by being supported above the floor on a pedestal or suspended from the poultry house ceiling. Prior art structures have, for the most part, concentrated on distributing heat from a small heat source, typically a gas burner, over as great a floor surface area as possible.
One such structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,888 issued to Du Fault for POULTRY BROODERS. Du Fault discloses a spiral gas burner positioned within a cylindrical perforated screen beneath a flat deflecting plate. In operation, the Du Fault spiral gas burner increases the burner surface area to heat the perforated screen and flat deflecting plate, which spread heat over the poultry house floor. A similar structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,379 issued to Kuhn for RADIANT HEATING DEVICE, which discloses a ring-shaped burner to heat vertical screens, all beneath a deflecting plate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,137 issued to Horne for a CHICKEN BROODER, a perforated screen radiant is configured in an inverted frustoconical shape to increase the surface area of the poulty house floor heated by this radiant. As with other perforated screen radiants, heated gas must penetrate the screen in order to heat that screen and cause it to radiate. Horne discloses a gas burner positioned above the perforated screen but below a baffle to accomplish full penetration of the screen by the hot gases. The baffle forces heated gases from the burner outward through the screen. Horne also discloses insulating the rear surface of the baffle to prevent heat from dissipating rather than being forced through the screen.
No prior art structures involving perforated screen radiants disclose any method for evenly controlling the heating of the radiant. Rather, in these structures the heated gas randomly passes or is forced through the perforated screen.
Structures which obtain more even heating of the radiant element involve inverted frustoconical ceramic elements suspended above a gas burner which contact heated gases flowing outwardly across the radiant. One such structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,306 issued to Thompson for a GAS HEATING UNIT FOR BROODER. The ceramic element there disclosed is provided with projections on the lower surface thereof. In the Thompson brooder, however, the heated gas flows across the ceramic element by a direct path through the protrusions to the edge thereof.
Another brooder involving a ceramic radiant element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,505,976 issued to Miller for a GAS FIRED CHICK BROODER DEVICE. There, a ceramic radiant element positioned above a gas burner and having randomly positioned projections on the bottom surface thereof is disclosed. The pitch of the bottom surface of the ceramic element varies from relatively steep near the center to relatively flat or even oppositely pitched at the outer edges in order to allow hot gases to travel across the ceramic element quickly at the center and more slowly at the edges thereof. However, as in the Thompson U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,306 structure, the heated gases flow to the edge of the ceramic element by a direct path between the projections. Such direct flow does not achieve even heating of the ceramic element.
None of the prior art structures which disclose a ceramic element heated by contact with hot gase to radiate energy downwardly discloses a structure which maximizes efficient heat transfer from the hot gases to the ceramic radiant element while also preventing inefficient heat loss to the surrounding environment.
Furthermore, none of the prior art structures allows convenient temperature sensing element adjustment to accomplish temperature sensing both beneath and outside the brooder. Poultry farmers require temperature sensing in these alternative positions depending upon whether the temperature of the entire brooding house or just a section of the poultry house floor beneath the brooder is to be regulated. All of the prior art structures discussed above disclose a temperature sensing element in a fixed position beneath the poultry brooder, attached either to the underside of the canopy roof or beneath the gas burner itself. Thus, in order to alternatively regulate the temperature of both the whole poultry house or just a section of the poultry house floor the poultry farmer must inconveniently dismantle and reassemble the temperature sensing element support.
3. Objects of the Invention
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a ceramic radiant element which is adapted to control the flow of hot gases thereover.
A further object of the present invention is to provide, in a ceramic radiant element adapted to control the flow of hot gases thereover, maximum energy transfer from the hot gases to the radiant element.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to minimize inefficient dissipation of energy by the radiant element to the atmosphere.
Another object of the present invention is to provide, in a thermostatically controlled poultry brooder, a temperature sensing element support which alternatively permits temperature sensing to control the temperature of either the whole poultry house or a section of the poultry house floor.
A further object of the present invention is to provide, in a thermostatically controlled poultry brooder, a temperature sensing element support which may be readily adjusted between temperature sensing positions beneath and outside the poultry brooder.